Colombia’s Vice Prosecutor General has confirmed accusations that former congressman Luis Carlos Restrepo had ties to a now-extradited narco-trafficker, Caracol Radio reported Wednesday.
In the decision, Vice Prosecutor Juan Carlos Forero confirmed the accusation that Restrepo had illegally received as many as $1,500 a month from Hernando Gomez Bustamente, alias “Rasguño” while running for mayor of Cartago between 2001 and 2003.
One of the testimonies taken into account in the final decision was that of Rasguño himself, who testified against Restrepo to the Colombian Supreme Court of Justice in 2010. Rasguño claimed to have received frequent visits from Restrepo, and said that he supported the politician financially in his campaign for mayor. Restrepo was arrested in April 2010 following testimony from the extradited drug trafficker, who was arrested in 2004.
“As if this were not enough, Mr. Restrepo Orozco denied a series of circumstances during the course of the proceedings…which among other things were established through written proof and testimony,” said Forero.
These circumstances indicated that the former official not only had ties with Rasguõ, but with drug trafficker Ariel Rodriguez, alias ‘El Diablo’ as well.
